UAE tycoon pledges over $1bn to Arab education

DUBAI: A wealthy Emirati businessman says he is giving away a third of his assets, or more than a billion dollars, to educate Arab youth.
Abdullah Al-Ghurair’s donation aims to provide AED4.2 billion ($1.14 billion) over 10 years to an eponymous foundation to educate underprivileged youth. It was announced Tuesday by his son, Abdulaziz Al-Ghurair.
The foundation will initially focus on Emirati and Arab expatriate youth living in the seven-state federation, with the eventual aim of expanding to include students in other Arab countries. Al-Ghurair hails from a prominent mercantile family with interests in several industries, and is chairman of Dubai-based Mashreq Bank.